The press release cites Alice Neel as an influence, and I don't have any reason to argue with that. I'd also mention Alex Katz if he had more paint and was prone to bits of controlled sloppiness. Like our hometown hero (currently showing at PaceWildenstein), the Londoner paints cool, colorful portraits that some people will find quietly moving, others dull. I tend to find myself more in the former category.

Joffe's been showing in England at Victoria Miro for a decade and most recently popped up in New York at another ampersand-marked gallery (Fredericks & Freiser). (Yes, one of these would work nicely next to a nice, big John Wesley!) Even in this market, one imagines that these will sell, which means we'll be seeing more of Ms. Joffe in the future. That's fine with me.